November Snow
by RandomMumble
Summary: Falling Snow in late November can cause your heart to grow with Love. But it can also shatter it into a million little pieces...


**Title****: **_**November Snow**_

**Disclaimer****: **No copyright infringements intended! (The little poem in the beginning is mine; the short text fragments in the end are from the song 'The Day you walk away' by Papermoon)

**Summary****:** Snow in late November can cause your heart to grow with Love. But it can also shatter it into a million little pieces...

**Characters:** Severus Snape/Lily Evans

**Genre****:** Drama / Hurt/Comfort

**Rating****: **K+

**Words****:** 1.913

**A/N****:** First snow this year! =) (well, here in Austria, don't know how it is at your place ;P) And it was quite amazing, such huge flakes! And standing in the garden, listening to 'Sunday kind of love', my dog constantly tackling me I got the idea for this little story. I think it could have been done better – a lot, but oh well, that's what came out. Hope you like it! =)  
_Please, R&R.  
_Thank you in Advance!

**~*~  
**_Once when time was but a word  
You swore, we'll never part  
But then you broke my fragile heart  
Once when love was but to hurt _

_It felt like burning love  
In the most freezing place on earth  
I never tried to hide,  
I never meant to fight  
But it's just like how it goes,  
With you  
And me  
With November Snow _

_Together did we grow  
Up the hills we hiked  
Cause this is how it's like  
with November Snow  
with November Snow  
_**~*~ **

Alone, Severus Snape sat in the three broomsticks and pushed his butter beer back and forth in front of him.

It was late November and already very cold outside, yet in the pub a cozy warmth spread among the people, a welcomed bliss for the freezing wizards and witches.

Involuntarily Snape sighed deeply as his gaze lingered somewhere in the past. Somewhere where time was but a word…

~*~  
The dreary, young wizard sat on a desk in the library, burying himself in an old book on transfigurations. It was only late November in his last year in Hogwarts, but he planned on passing with distinction; no matter how many evenings he would have to spend studying in this place.

Soon the sun began to set and Severus was left alone in the library as the other students went to their common rooms to enjoy a lazy evening. He didn't pay any attention to the large, darkening window across him; instead he kept mumbling to himself and scribbling in a ragged notebook that lay beside the transfigurations book.

Suddenly a loud _bang_ echoed through the large room as the door sprung open. Severus jumped in his seat and the little notebook went sailing down to the floor.  
"_What_ in Merlin's name -?" he shouted; an angry expression showing on his pale face. But then he saw her.

"_Lily?_" At first he thought he either imagined her standing there at all or the broad grin on her lips was really but a baring of her teeth. But it was nothing like that. Lily Evans stood actually in the doorway and there was no such thing as a mad look in her sparkling, green eyes.

For years they hadn't talked. They'd stopped being friends a long time ago and ever since their paths had been of separate kinds. But now she was standing there, obviously only to look for _him_; there was no one else left at such a time. And she was smiling, like nothing ever happened. Before Severus could think of anything to say Lily rushed to his side and grabbed his upper arm.

"Severus, did you _see_ that? _Look_, it's –," she cried out happily, but then she stopped midsentence and licked her lips; a nervous habit of hers he hadn't seen in such a long time. He must have gazed at her like she just grew a second _and_ a third head for her joyous expression vanished and got replaced by an uncomfortable, cloudy gaze; but it wouldn't last long, however. As soon as she moved her eyes to the large window they lit up anew and she shook her head slightly, as if to get rid of an unnerving fly.  
"It's snowing! _Look_!" She smiled and pulled at his shoulder.

For a second he wanted to free his arm from her grip and ask her if she'd lost her mind, but then he recalled the times when they used to play together in the first snow, when they were but toddlers and nothing could have stained their pure and happy picture of friendship. …and a small smile appeared on his lips.  
It felt nice to have her close again, it was nice to see her smile at him and it was nice to be reminded of a better, but long lost time…

He didn't know what to say, however, but that wasn't necessary anyways. Lily didn't hesitate any longer to drag him out of the library – never minding his belongings – out of the building and onto a meadow of the grounds of Hogwarts.  
The still green grass glistened in the dark early evening; frozen ice crystals covering it and reflecting the silvery moonshine. At first the cold evening air stung painfully in Severus' lungs as he inhaled, but it lasted only the shortest of a moment and then he felt a low thud at his side. He looked down on himself; startled and confused, discovering a white mark on his dark cloak when a wonderful sound of laughter reached his ears.

Lily knelt on the ground, not too far away and covered her mouth, trying to stifle her laughter. The little amount of snow that had already settled on the meadow was however enough to be formed into a ball and thrown at an unsuspecting victim.

Brushing the remaining snow off of his cloak Severus raised an eyebrow and tried to glare at her, just the _glare_ got betrayed by the smirk curling his lips, creeping up his face and placing an amused sparkle in his black eyes.  
No minute later there went another snowball flying through the air. This one hit Lily's arm as she held it up to protect her beautiful face and she laughed even harder. Crossing his arms in front of his chest Severus showed a broad smirk and titled his head daringly. He expected another attack as Lily gathered a quite impressive amount of snow – seeing how little had fallen until then. But she wouldn't throw it at him, she got up, scanned the area and sat down, no meter away from him and placed the little snowball in front of her.  
"_Help_ me," she whined in a faked childish manner and grinned, turning back to her newfound work. Shaking his head, but smiling, however, Severus joined her at the ground and began gathering some snow himself.

Together they worked on the smallest _snow-whatever-it-was-supposed-to-be_ ever. It wasn't easy, though; two people working on one little statue without talking appeared to be challenging.  
Soon Lily pushed Severus' hand away to add a little bit of snow on the left side of the _snow_-_thing_ and he grunted and pushed her away in return. Lily let out a frustrated sigh as she frowned and narrowed her eyes. Quite forcefully she pushed her shoulder against Severus' and he nearly fell to the side at this unexpected attack.

"_Hey!_" He rubbed the spot where Lily had hit him, but his free hand pushed her back, equally forceful.  
"_Hey!_" She exclaimed and narrowed her eyes anew.

With little effort she shifted enough to be between Severus and the _snow-thing_ and started adding more snow to the left side, like she wanted to do before their little incident. A satisfied smile on her face she leaned back and nodded at the _snow-thing_. Behind her Severus frowned, grabbed some snow and leant over her to change it. A muffled growl came from beneath him as he patted the snow-thing to get the shape he wanted it to have.  
Lily stuck her elbow out. Pushing Severus back she grabbed a small stick from the ground beside them. Carefully she placed the short stick where she expected the _snow-thing_'s face to be and Severus took two little pebbles – one about thrice the size of the other, though – which would be the _snow-thing_'s eyes.

Along with more thick snowflakes a dry leave got blown in their direction by a soft breeze. Lily grabbed it easily and placed it on the _snow-thing_'s head – or the part that was highest at least. She fixed it with another stick and grinned happily as she admired the ugly, little thing. Severus on the other hand frowned and grunted. He leaned forward again and removed the dry leave from the _snow-thing_'s head and instead he placed a few blades of grass onto it. Now he grinned, but not long either as Lily brushed his addition off, replacing it with her dry leave, again.  
"_No_," Severus insisted and tried to change it back to the blades of grass, but Lily caught his wrist and pushed him away. For a few minutes they struggled with each other and nearly ruined their _snow-thing _as their feet kicked uncoordinated trough the air.

As Lily leant back, trying to push Severus away with her left foot, her hand slipped on the snowy ground and she fell back.  
"_Ouch!_"  
Severus lifted a brow and asked, "You okay?" As she nodded, rubbing her head and pouting he choked a little, trying to suppress laughter and not really succeeding. Lily threw him an evil glare, but that made it even harder for him to keep himself from laughing out loud.  
Annoyed Lily got up and patted her coat to clean it from the melting snow. As she watched Severus' unsuccessful effort to stop laughing she couldn't hold back and had to chuckle herself.

Severus looked up, a hiccup still reminding him of the laughing fit he just had and Lily sighed, thoughtfully looking down to him.

The moment was gone. For the past minutes it had been like it used to be a long time ago. Just two kids playing foolishly together. It hadn't been of any importance that they weren't kids anymore, and it hadn't been of any importance that they weren't friends anymore. For this evening they _had_ been friends again. …If just for a few minutes.  
Only a reminder of what had been once – what could have been if only – _if only_.

But the moment was gone and it would never be like this again and they both knew it.

As Severus sat before the girl he used to know, in the partially snow covered grass he glanced up at her and couldn't help but notice how wonderful she was. The darkness surrounded her; the moon still laid its silvery glow onto her and the falling first snow settled in her beautiful, red hair. For a second he wondered how long it would take for the warmth spreading from her heart to melt the glistening white snowflakes. She looked so peaceful and bewitching, Severus nearly forgot, that he wasn't facing a _friend;_ not anymore… nor the girl he could have found love and happiness with.  
However he got up and smiled a smile that was a foreign mix of happiness and regret and she mirrored this painful smile.

Suddenly the silence got cut by a sharp voice screaming from the castle.  
"You crazy brats! Get in here and receive your punishment. ..Out at such a time," a voice rambled angrily and the two on the meadow got pulled out of their dazzled trance.

One last, sad smile crossed Lily's lips as she walked past Severus; closer than what would have been necessary, though. She placed her hand softly on Severus' shoulder, squeezed it a little and leant towards him, brushing her cheek against the cold fabric of his cloak before she eventually walked on and towards the rambling voice.

For a few more seconds Severus stood still in the moonlight; the snow still fell on his head and shoulders and soon he began to get cold. As he turned around to leave; head back into an unknown future where nothing was for sure – nothing, except that it wouldn't have Lily in it – the only reminder of this all too swift memory of the past was an ugly, little _snow-thing_ with a dry leave and a few blades of grass, messy on its head…  
~*~

Snape took another callous sip of his butter beer and closed his eyes to hide and chase away the pain dwelling up in him.

~*~  
If he'd looked out of the window behind his back he would have seen the first snowflakes of this year; falling down from the heavens and covering the busy streets in late November.

Maybe they were a reminder; maybe but a memory… Maybe they were messengers… but it didn't matter; the person they were meant for wouldn't pay attention anyway…

**~*~  
**_Snow fell on the day you came  
And I have seen today  
That Snow fell just before you walked away  
_**~*~ **


End file.
